When Jeremy Dennis came to Happy Valley about two years ago, he was hoping to expand his horizons. Already a graduate of Stony Brook University, New York, he applied for the master of fine arts in photography program at Penn State. Dennis travelled to University Park for an interview with Lonnie Graham, a professor of studio art at Penn State, totally unaware that Graham and the university would help propel his photography and artwork into a grand project titled “On This Site.” “I came to Penn State to interview with him [Graham] before I applied,” Dennis said. “He reviewed my

The origin of the name “Indiana,” which essentially means “Land of the Indians,” testifies to the fact that the area was once home to Native Americans. And in historical terms, that time wasn’t so distant: About two centuries ago, settlements of tribes such as the Shawnee and Miami could be found throughout most of the state. Today, Indiana University is providing resources and support to help Native American tribes — devastated by generations of war, disease and displacement — reconnect to their rich heritage. It’s something Benjamin Barnes, second chief of the Shawnee Tribe, experienced firsthand this summer. Barnes, IU’s

Gwen Westerman likes to tell stories. She just doesn’t do it with words. “I think there is a way of telling stories that doesn’t involve putting them in a book,” said Westerman, an artist who works with visual mediums like fiber and textiles. “This is a different format to share culture, history and tradition.” She was recently named as the University of Nebraska’s Great Plains Art Museum’s Artist in Residence, and the first part of her residency lasted for a week at the beginning of this month. She’ll continue the second half in mid-November, using the lobby of the museum

Inspired by their experiences in college and elsewhere, these Pathfinders are passing by the typical, well-trod career paths and blazing their own trails. We’ll explore the unconventional approaches these Big Ten alums are taking to work. The Ojibwe tribe — the fourth-largest among the remaining Native American nations in the United States — has more than 200,000 members that reside throughout the Midwest. But only a small portion of its elders can actually speak the language of the tribe. At the University of Minnesota, assistant professor Erik Redix and his colleagues in the American Indian Studies department are on a